massey Posted November 24, 2013 Report Share Posted November 24, 2013 Okay, so I've been messing around with some character writeups, just for the fun of it. A fairly frequent subject of discussion over the years has been how do balance a game where one person wants to play Superguy and another wants to play Detective Dude? I really liked the Superman/Batman series that started up back in 2003. Both characters fought together, and I liked the pacing of the book and the way the writers appeared to balance the two characters. If you haven't read the series, Superman is of course the most powerful individual on the planet, and Batman stands shoulder to shoulder with him as an absolute genius with a dizzying array of weapons and gadgets. The first 4 issues of that series were later made into a cartoon movie called "Public Enemies" (due to the fact that then-President Luthor declares them criminals and puts a billion dollar reward on their heads). So there's a great issue (and a great part in the cartoon) where just about every supervillain under the sun comes out and attacks the two heroes. What I have done since last night is write up the two characters, attempting to keep them relatively balanced against one another and against the villains they face. I also wrote up the villains that appear in the book (the ones in the cartoon are a little different from the comic and I don't have it in front of me at the moment). I tried to follow a few key rules for creating a "playable" Batman and Superman. Those are: 1. Bats and Supes should be evenly playable, even in a combat heavy game. If two players drew straws, neither would feel ripped off with the outcome. 2. Both Bats and Supes would retain their own flavor and would have a unique design. Superman should hit *much* harder and be able to take a lot more damage. Batman will have to be playable within that framework. 3. Both heroes should be able to operate in the 5th edition Champions universe and retain much of their stature against those already-existing characters. Nighthawk cannot beat up Batman. 4. Certain villains, such as Dr Destroyer and Takofanes, are exempt from this comparison. Their writeups are out of whack with their own universe, and will be disregarded. 30D6 attacks have no place in the 5th edition game. 5. The DC villains will be scaled appropriately against Bats and Supes, using primarily the (what appears to be) alternate continuity of that comic series. It doesn't matter if Weather Wizard was able to ninja kick Batman unconscious back in 1992, what matters if how he matches up in this storyline. Even villains who are traditionally very tough get Worf'ed a little bit here. 6. The DC villains will also be scaled somewhat against existing Champions 5th villains (so they'll be usable in regular Champions games). A lot of these guys are 350 characters, max. They fight JLA level heroes by getting the drop on them, catching them in a trap, or getting friendly-GM situational bonuses. 7. A certain minimalist design philosophy was taken in these writeups. Most of these charcters could be fleshed out to be a lot more compelte and have a lot more skills. Characters are woefully lacking in special defenses. Bases, contacts, vehicles, etc, are nowhere to be found. 8. If I was unfamiliar with a character and could find zero information online (I'm looking at you, King Shark), I took my best guess and made stuff up. So without further ado... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted November 24, 2013 Report Share Posted November 24, 2013 I like the idea. You also need law abiding heroes to go after the main characters. It was nice to see Power Girl in the movie. The main heroes can use their powers of persuasion to get the other heroes to come over on their side. Invictus is a villain who pretended to be a hero in a 4th Edition book of Enemies. Let's say that he is elected President, and declares war on Crusader and Starburst, and they have to convince The Champions that they are innocent of the charges, and take his said when the Golden Avenger and the PRIMUS Iron Guard shows up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
massey Posted November 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2013 Superman - 750 points Str 90Dex 26Con 40Body 20Int 23Ego 20Pre 30Com 18 PD 40ED 40Spd 6Rec 26End 80Stun 85 +2 OCVAppropriate noncombat skills 40/40 Damage ResistanceLife Support +3 all PerceptionUltrasonic hearingIR sightN-Ray+12 vs range 70 pt movement Multipower30" Flight x810" Flight megascale 100 km per inch25" Running x435" Leaping x410" Tunneling x4 90 pt Kryptonian powers Multipower6D6 RKA heat vision, no kb24D6 Dspel vs any one fire power50 Str TK, affects porous9D6 EB x2 kb9D6 EntangleChange Environment6D6 Minor Transform (superspeed effects) Superman.hdc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
massey Posted November 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2013 Batman - 750 points Str 25 Dex 32 Con 28 Body 18 Int 28 Ego 23 Pre 35 Com 18 PD 15 ED 15 Spd 8 Rec 12 End 56 Stun 45 +3 w/ HTH +3 w/ Range lots and lots of noncombat skills 15 pts wealth 4 lvls combat luck lots of martial arts w/ 4 DCs (offensive strike is 13D6) 90 pt VPP "utility belt" half phase to change +1/2 no skill roll +1 OIF -1/2 11 pt movement Multipower 11" running 11" leaping +5" if makes acrobatics roll 11" gliding 11" swinging 7" swimming 3" teleportation - megascale 10 km ("where'd he go?") 10 pts Mental Def Missile Deflection - all 40 pt Multipower - World's Greatest Detective requires skill roll Super-Interrogation 8D6 Telepathy Super-Criminology 8D6 Mind Scan Super Crime Scene Analysis - Retrocognition 9 pt VPP cosmic skills only (for things like KS: ancient Egyptian art styles, and other things he'll never need more than once) Notes: Batman has a huge advantage is Speed, because he has to spend a lot of his time dodging. Many phases will be used dodging, blocking, or using gadgets. For your own sanity don't try and figure out how fast he can run. For story purposes he can't. Batman.hdc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
massey Posted November 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2013 Note: I wrote up the above two characters without trying to duplicate everything they did in that series. They'd actually be a lot more points if I did that. Metallo - 475 points Str 80 Dex 23 Con 40 Body 20 Int 10 Ego 10 Pre 25 Com 8 PD 35 ED 35 Spd 5 Rec 24 End 80 Stun 80 +3 HTH 30/30 Damage Resistance Life Support 27 pt Multipower (as you can tell, I like movement multipowers) 17" Running x4 35" Superleap x4 8D6 NND +1/2 - Kryptonite heart defense is not being kryptonian 30 pt MP - robotic reconfiguration AE: Hex on 60 pts Str 2D6 HKA (4D6 w/ Str) 4" Stretching - zero end -- In a one on one fight, Metallo is nearly a match for Superman. Metallo.hdc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
massey Posted November 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2013 Captain Cold - 270 points Str 15 Dex 23 Con 18 Body 13 Int 20 Ego 15 Pre 20 Com 10 PD 10 ED 10 Spd 5 Rec 7 End 36 Stun 30 +3 w cold gun noncom skills 3 lvls combat luck Cold gun - 70 pt Multipower 7D6 Entangle 5D6 Entangle +5 hexes 7D6 NND - LS Cold 4D6-1 RKA - Autofire x3 Change Environment OIF Cold suit 5/5 armor LS: Cold 8 pts Flash Def sight -- So I'm not just posting a million character writeups, I'll stop here unless people are just clamoring to see them. I think everyone has the basic idea behind it. Captain Cold.hdc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
assault Posted November 24, 2013 Report Share Posted November 24, 2013 Pretty good builds. Mission accomplished, I think. Of course if you want to post any more villains, feel free... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassandra Posted November 24, 2013 Report Share Posted November 24, 2013 What point level are you looking for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
massey Posted November 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2013 What point level are you looking for? I was looking to make characters who can still function as their comic book selves, but would fit into a standard Champions world without completely wrecking it. So Batman hits about as hard as a human level martial artist can hit. Superman is as strong as Grond. And the average villain should be about as dangerous as the average Champions villain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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